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FRESH MEAT FRIDAY: June 19th, 2020 (feat. Carrion Vael, Insatanity, Mothers of the Land, and Underer)

6/18/2020

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Every Friday, a wagon arrives at the Sleeping Village’s gates, stuffed to the brim with our sustenance for the following week. Today is the day we must offload all this new music, and so, in the process, we thought it would be worthwhile to share some of our choice picks from this veritable mass of fresh meat. This is what we’ll be listening to today here at the Village HQ. We hope you join us in doing so! 

On the docket for today, June 19th, 2020:
Carrion Vael, Mothers of the Land,  Underer, and Insatanity (and a bonus charity compilation!)

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​Carrion Vael - God Killer
(Horror Pain Gore Death)


God Killer can get it. Which is to say: this here album fucks. 
Carrion Vael 
have concocted an expertly crafted blend of death metal motifs, ranging from technical shredding, to pounding riffage, to the melodic leanings of Swedeath's finest. This is like the bastard child of like, Slugdge and At The Gates, with a healthy dose of brutality thrown in for good measure. Rather than overpowering proceedings, the tech elements are  incredibly well balanced with the heft of traditional death. Headbanging and air guitar-ing is inevitable--and if that ain't a mark of death metal worth perusing, I dunno what is. 

Calling it now: Carrion Vael is responsible for the tech-death metal album of the year. God Killer is an absolute stunner.

​Find it on bandcamp here!

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Mothers of the Land - Hunting Grounds
(Stonefree Records)

There's something so immensely satisfying about an album where the artwork reflects and mimics the beauty dwelling within. In the case of Hunting Grounds, our heavy psych instrumentalists in question have constructed a truly gorgeous package. Lush melody, organically psychedelic meandering, and vibrant NWOBHM momentum all serve to invite relaxation while maintaining sharp interest in the absence of vocals. Indeed, Hunting Grounds succeeds remarkably well at constructing a world of intrigue--this is an album for people who don't think they like instrumental albums. It's a difficult trick to pull off, to say the least. Beyond that, the guitar tone is beauty incarnate. I'm comfortable considering this a masterpiece, and will revisit it for some quite some time.

Find it on bandcamp here!


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FRESH MEAT FRIDAY: May 15th, 2020

5/15/2020

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​Every Friday, a wagon arrives at the Sleeping Village’s gates, stuffed to the brim with our sustenance for the following week. Today is the day we must offload all this new music, and so, in the process, we thought it would be worthwhile to share some of our choice picks from this veritable mass of fresh meat. This is what we’ll be listening to today here at the Village HQ. We hope you join us in doing so!

On the docket for today, May 15th, 2020:
 In The Company of Serpents, Devangelic, OKKULTOKRATI, and Vide/Witchbones

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In The Company of Serpents - Lux  
(Self Released)

Now this. This is doom metal how I like it: an exercise in extremes. menacing yet delicate, dynamically light-footed yet seismically plodding, and utterly willing to throw genre convention out the window. From neo-folk acoustics to sludgy Neurosisian heft, In The Company of Serpents demonstrate a keen ability to shift expectations and apply nuance to a genre that all-too-oft relies entirely on the power of the riff. There's a gentle balance struck here between the lighter ambiance and the shadow-cast atmosphere that few bands are able to apply. Simply put, this is an engrossing album, likely to appeal to anyone who enjoys doom across the spectrum from thick sludge to esoteric psych.  Hence, I do gladly declare that Lux is the greatest album this week has to offer. 

​Find it on bandcamp here!

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Devangelic - Ersetu
​(Willowtip Records)

Ersetu is the first album of its ilk to appear on Fresh Meat Friday--namely, an album that I don't understand, nor particularly enjoy. That said, there is something intriguing dwelling in these repetitive riffs, and I aim to spend the day figuring out what that quality is, hence the inclusion here. On the plus side: Devangelic has their brand of filthy rhythmic riffs delivered in rapid-fire succession down to a science. The downside? Those same incessant riffs are the entire meat of this album. There's no deviation, no dynamism in the songwriting--which ultimately leads to an utter lack of perception of one's place in the album. Track distinctions lose meaning. As such, Ersetu feels more like submersion into a brutal bath, an exercise in hypnosis by incessant march of sixteenths.

Find it on bandcamp here!


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FRESH MEAT FRIDAY: April 16th, 2020

4/16/2020

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Every Friday, a wagon arrives at the Sleeping Village’s gates, stuffed to the brim with our sustenance for the following week. Today is the day we must offload all this new music, and so, in the process, we thought it would be worthwhile to share some of our choice picks from this veritable mass of fresh meat. This is what we’ll be listening to today here at the Village HQ. We hope you join us in doing so!
On the docket for today, April 16th, 2020:
At the Altar of the Horned God, FOES, REPTILIUM, and Funeral Leech

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At the Altar of the Horned God - ​Through Doors of Moonlight (I, Voidhanger Records)

Ye olde I, Voidhanger specializes in delivering music that pushes boundaries and toes lines of obscurity and invention. In that regard, At the Altar of the Horned God certainly delivers: this album is a blackened avant-garde paganistic ode to the natural order. While the majority of the ritualistic soundscape blankets the listener with an odd meditative sensuality, a sharp vicious rage frequently shows teeth. Equal parts spiritual and menacing, Through Doors of Moonlight feels like a genuine journey--although it’s yet to be determined whether said journey leads into enlightenment...or through madness. Let me get back to you on that one; I’ve only listened to this horn’d beast once. Highly recommended for those of you who like a brand of black metal as experimental as it is organic.

Find 'em on bandcamp here!

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FOES - American Violence
(Glacier Recordings)

Metallic hardcore? Not my typical genre o’ choice. But sometimes you just need an ass-kicking soundtrack, and so here we are, latest EP from OR’s hardest hardcore outfit  clutched in white-knuckled grasp. In short? These guys rip it up with elbow elbow-throwing zeal, laying down a potent mix of punishing deathy riffage and gritty hardcore swagger. Muted chugs throw down alongside breakneck percussion and the most furious vocal delivery of the week.
 FOES are not here to make friends, and, in the process, will likely end up gaining themselves some fans instead--after all, if there was ever a time to be fuckin’ furious, this is surely it.
American Violence succeeds because it wears its vitriolic intent on its ragged and punk-patch ridden sleeves. Check this one out.

Find 'em on bandcamp here!


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FRESH MEAT FRIDAY: April 10th, 2020

4/10/2020

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Every Friday, a wagon arrives at the Sleeping Village’s gates, stuffed to the brim with our sustenance for the following week. Today is the day we must offload all this new music, and so, in the process, we thought it would be worthwhile to share some of our choice picks from this veritable mass of fresh meat. This is what we’ll be listening to today here at the Village HQ. We hope you join us in doing so!
On the docket for today, April 10th, 2020:
Like Rats, CURSE, Benighted, and the Women of Doom compilation

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Like Rats - Death Monolith
​(Hibernation Release)


Desperate times call for death metal. This, I’m fairly sure, was written as gospel at some point in the past 30-odd years. In any case, Chicago death outfit Like Rats are here to crush, mush, and otherwise pulverize this release day with their hardcore-tinged brand of OSDM. Offering up a hearty stew of Immolation riffage and Morbid Angel ‘tude, the groove is predictably strong with these guys, with every single track herein delivering an opportunity or two for a behemothian fit of headbanging.

​If you’re in the mood for death without a jangly assortment of bells and whistles, I highly recommend you give
Death Monolith a shot during your release day shenanigans.
​

Find 'em on bandcamp here!

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CURSE - The Awakening..and the Old
​
(Redefining Darkness Records)


We’ve got two offerings from the consistently amazing Redefining Darkness Records today--the first being this tasty blackened thrash EP from Sweden’s CURSE. Those of ye who know me very well will know that I have a fondness for the black(ened thrash) arts, and these five tracks are no exception to the rule--although I will say that the general approach in a tad slower than genre convention might dictate. As a result, we’re presented with a surprisingly atmospheric assault, with the trashier elements feeling particularly visceral when they do unsheathe their claws. It’s as if the lovechild of Urgehal and early Watain were left to rot for a decade or two before being abruptly awoken. In other words: good stuff. ​

Find 'em on bandcamp here!


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FRESH MEAT FRIDAY: March 27th, 2020

3/27/2020

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Every Friday, a wagon arrives at the Sleeping Village’s gates, stuffed to the brim with our sustenance for the following week. Today is the day we must offload all this new music, and so, in the process, we thought it would be worthwhile to share some of our choice picks from this veritable mass of fresh meat. This is what we’ll be listening to today here at the Village HQ. We hope you join us in doing so!
On the docket for today, March 27th, 2020:
Wake, Chrome Ghost, Lord Buffalo, and Unholy Desecration

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Lord Buffalo - Tohu Wa Bohu (Blues Funeral Recordings)

Anyone who follows my personal taste knows that I'm a sucker for Blues Funeral's offerings, and this is no different--albeit a stark turn in genre direction. Rather than peddling thunderous riffage, Tohu Wa Bohu successfully harnesses the landscape of the west, alongside a deep tradition of folk and Americana. Lord Buffalo inject their sophomoric effort with a dark, gothic, and otherwise moody energy, like unto, perhaps, a ghost town at dawn. Psychedelic blues tramp over windswept plains. Tohu Wa Bohu is equal parts morbid and comforting--that perfect place lurking, inexplicably, between comfort and unease. In a word? Haunting. Skeletal. Gorgeous. Recommended. 

​Find it on Bandcamp here. 

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Unholy Desecration - Unholy Horde (Confused Records)

You know what we all need in times like these? Yeah, that's right: blacken'd death metal.  Bloodthirsty Texans Unholy Desecration get down and dirty, providing the goods in spades. Riddled with technical flourishes and melodic undercurrents, Unholy Horde primarily exudes that which we seek--namely, a ripping good time. Everything here is designed, it seems, to paint a picture of hell, from the beastial and militaristic effects, to the pure larynx-shredding enacted in the pursuit of deliciously torturous vocals. While I do wish the guitar tone was a little fuller to fully maximize the brutality of the riffage these guys lay down, I’m nonetheless quite happy to let this one keep on spinning. 

​Find it on Bandcamp here. 


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VILLAGE CRYPT: Aborted - TerrorVision

3/24/2020

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Here at the Sleeping Village, we keep our most revered albums in....a very special place. Their time may have gone, but they are certainly not forgotten. On the today's docket is an album that, despite not receiving a whole lot of love from critics, ended up smacking 2018's Albums of the Year list in the face, coming in at a respectable #8. 

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And, if I had to do it all again, I suspect it would land in a very similar place. Hindsight is always 20/20, and in this case, I regret nothing. TerrorVision is a damn fun album--one that I still listen to frequently to this day.
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There are a lot of brutal death metal bands that bring visceral bombast to the operating table, but Aborted ply their trade with an indistinguishable and unmatched glee. It's absolutely disgusting. Across the breadth, individual tracks begin to lose distinct character, but rather form a series of brutal procedures, grinding and lacerating with bloody intent. Unlike many of their counterparts in the realm of goregrind and brutal death, who may wield scalpels like blunt force instruments, Aborted are relentlessly calculating in their technicality. That said, they never let flashiness take president over that which matters most--pummeling riffs, cranium-splitting drums, belligerent vocals, and straightforward songwriting. TerrorVison is fast, hefty, and, despite boasting a modern hone, is smeared with the accumulated viscera of a remarkably consistent career.


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    • OLDE INTERVIEWS
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